Superboy #4 Review

Superboy ponders the meaning of life. No, really.

Superboy continues to be a series that seems to be struggling to find its hook, with a lead character that is at once willfully snarky but also introspective in a way that could challenge even the most pensive Superman to a duel of Spielbergian stares. Writer Scott Lobdell manages to make the character fun to read in issue #4, but undermines the humor with occasional doses of heavy-handed philosophical discussion about faith and symbolism. The balancing act doesn't quite work; the issue sets itself up with a whole bunch of clever lines by Superboy, lumps some "Why can't a tree just be a tree?" philosophy in the middle, and then plays up the psychotic villain duo that elicits more snark from our lead character. In the end, Superboy #4 seems to lose focus of itself and only allows the reader to enjoy it in small chunks.

On the other hand, R.B. Silva turns in his best work yet on this series, due primarily to finally getting a change of scenery as Superboy heads to New York City. Silva revels in getting to draw NYC at Christmas time, offering up all the small details that will ring true to anyone that's seen the city in person at that time of year. More importantly, his character work is impressive. Considering that a bulk of this issue (as many before it) consists of Superboy floating around and brooding/thinking, Silva's ability add a subtext to Lobdell's script that would otherwise feel flat is a key reason that the wavering tone of this issue doesn't completely derail it.

I'm willing to give Superboy a little bit more time to find its niche, but compared to where some other titles are in their fourth chapters, it's going to have to happen fast or I'll be dropping this title for good.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on MyIGN. You may or may not discover a profound number of cat pictures.